MUMBAI: Venting his anger against the officials of the state government for their role in issuing licenses, ration cards and other documents to the migrants from north Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in lieu of bribes, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray has given an ultimatum to government employees.
He yesterday set a one-month deadline to Marathi-speaking government employees to check the influx of north Indians or be prepared to face the consequences. Raj’s ultimatum to the state employees came during a meeting of the MNS party-bearers held in Dadar suburb here yesterday. This is the second warning that Raj gave to all government employees — “from top to bottom”, as one of his close aides described his move.
“Since the last several years, migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have been coming here, they get ration cards, licenses, domicile certificates. How? Have we ever thought of that? They come here, construct illegal shanties, stay on footpaths. Are the government officials not aware of this? If they are, what steps they have taken?” he angrily asked.
Raj further vented his anguish saying, “If they see there is some problem, they must take action. I give them one month’s time — otherwise — they should be prepared to face the music,” he said amid applause.
“People are asking whether our agitation is over? I must say our mission is not over yet,” he declared. Raj also prepared a four-page appeal-cum-memorandum, which would be submitted to all Marathi-speaking government employees asking them to take action against all the illegal practices in their departments.
The letter states, “Anybody, who comes in this state needs to obtain a domicile certificate. To obtain domicile certificates, rations cards and taxi licenses, there are certain rules that need to be followed. But today, in Maharashtra, these norms and laws are easily broken by offering bribes. This further leads to mushrooming of illegal slums, which further leads to illegal activities. Then illegal weapons are imported from UP-Bihar, which leads to increase in crime in the state.”
The letter further says, “It is at this moment that the government servants come to their rescue and legalize these activities and from here emerges politics. Most of the migrants are voters in UP and Bihar as well as in Maharashtra. So they vote at both the places, and it is here that a vote bank is created.”
Criticizing and taking potshots at those who fall prey to the “bribing,” the letter states: “Marathi person becomes a purchasable community when it accepts such bribes. This apart, we also start “loosing” our state. We have made Maharashtra another Bihar for the next generation. Do we want such a mention in the history?”
The concluding part of the letter says, “There is a need to probe the entire procedure of making illegal documents and should interrogate those involved in making these illegal documents. From security agencies to the Regional Transport Office (RTO) and encroachment on lands and grounds, everything needs to be checked.”
